Home > Press > British nanotech pioneer, Peratech, receives £1.1 million investment by YFM Group to fund expansion

Abstract:
Ultra thin, quantum effect touch sensors are smart replacements for old fashioned switches in mobile phones, robotics and many other devices

British nanotech pioneer, Peratech, receives £1.1 million investment by YFM Group to fund expansion

England | Posted on February 15th, 2010

Further to its recent announcements of licensing agreements with Nissha and Samson Electro-mechanics for 3D input technology for mobile phones, Peratech Limited has announced that YFM Group managed Partnership Investment Finance has invested £1.1 million into the Company. This will be used for further research and development into Peratech's award-winning, patented Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) technology for touch technology solutions, as well as growing the company's highly successful sales into overseas markets.

"We are really excited by the huge potential of Peratech and its technology," says Mark Winderbank at YFM Group, which is the most active VC investor in UK SMEs. "Peratech's recently announced license deals with major international companies Nissha and Samsung Electro-mechanics demonstrate how QTC can open up exciting new ways of doing things. We are proud to be able to support a fast growing British company with a truly unique technology that has a tremendous world market. Of all the possible investments that we have looked at recently, Peratech stood out because of the strength of its innovative technology and huge growth potential."

The key to QTC's success is that it enables traditional, old fashioned switches to be replaced with ultra reliable QTC versions that offer additional features such as no contacts to wear out and no air gap to be contaminated with water or dust. Moreover, because QTC is force sensitive, it opens up a whole new range of applications where the current flowing is directly proportional to the pressure applied. This enables a new category of touch sensitive, human machine interfaces to be created with a completely new three dimensional aspect. For example, the width of a line being drawn electronically can depend on the pressure applied, which is an ideal feature for Asian and Chinese characters, or pressing harder moves faster down into a menu structure on a mobile phone. Further details at www.peratech.com/pr.php

"In these financially challenging times, it is a real testament to both the QTC technology and the team behind it to have received funding of this level," adds Philip Taysom, joint CEO of Peratech. "The Company has invested significant R&D efforts to understand this new class of material science that it has invented. We are now at the stage where its ability to add value and completely new innovative features, which provide significant commercial advantages, are clearly demonstrable as can be seen from the licensing deals that we are closing with Tier 1 international companies."

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About PeratechPeratech is the inventor and world leader in Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) technology. QTC's are electro-active polymeric materials which enable the action of 'touch' to be translated into an electrical reaction, enabling a vast array of devices to incorporate very thin and highly robust 'sensing' of touch and pressure. Already widely used in robotics and defence, Peratech commercialised its QTC technology at the beginning of 2006 and is currently working with a number of key technology clients who are implementing QTC sensing technology within their own products.

QTC materials give enormous flexibility in the design, shape, thickness and style of a switch or pressure sensor and can be made in a range of elastomeric forms, including emulsive coatings (down to thicknesses of 10 microns), ‘bulk’ silicone or rubber and textile forms. Peratech pioneered the creation of electronic switches made from textiles as early as 2001. QTC has been recognised through numerous international awards and accolades including “Tomorrow’s World Industry Award 2002”, “Saatchi & Saatchi Innovation Award 2000” and “European Electronics Industry Award 2004”.

QTC materials have been used by organisations such as NASA, ILC Dover, Shadow Robotics and numerous government agencies World Wide. Peratech also owns SOFTswitch the pioneering creator of textile switching and Eleksen, the world leader in touch sensitive interactive textiles for electronics interface design.

About YFM Group

YFM Group funds under management continue to back fast growing SMEs across the UK, in the last 12 months 88 companies received funding from YFM Group, the deals were worth more than £89 million. YFM Group is the most active investor in UK SMEs based on research carried out by Private Equity Insight. Further information is available at www.yfmgroup.co.uk